Cairo Zoo – Oh my gosh!

After the Pyramid & Sphinx part of the tour we were taken to lunch. Then we had the chance to go back to Cairo and explore more or see some other sites. As we drove by the Cairo Zoo our tour guide said it was an option. The zoo sits on the west bank of the Nile in Giza.  She said it was nice and that people like to spend the day at the zoo. At a stop light Ron and I jumped off the bus so we could go to the zoo. It was a little like Frogger when we got off the bus because we had to dodge cars to get across the street, but we made it in one piece. 
 

Kids feeding the animals

The Cairo Zoo costs $3 American to enter--what a deal! Upon entering the zoo we realized we were the only tourists to stop there. We could feel all the people looking at us, almost like we were a side show at the zoo since we were Caucasian Americans. Kids started following us around asking us to teach them words in English. The only word we taught them that day was ball. 

Going to the zoo in Cairo was interesting. It was unlike any zoo I had ever seen. First, the obviously most painful part of the experience was to see the animals were not treated well and taken care of as well as we would have expected. The animal enclosures were small and often dirty. There was trash everywhere. At one point we saw a sign that said what behaviors weren’t allowed at the zoo, I swear we saw all of the behaviors occur at the zoo except maybe one or two. 

 

Many of the animals looked old, malnourished, and sad. It was heartbreaking to see them in these horrible conditions. They had many magnificent animals like lions, bears, and elephants but they looked malnourished, it was awful to see them there. I was most upset when we saw the bears. There was one bear in particular that broke my heart. They were giving them baths and one bear was covered with soap. He had it in his eyes and he looked miserable. It was horrific to see animals in these conditions. 

This bear has soap in his eyes. :-(

The unusual thing about the zoo was it was more of a place for families to hang out than it was a place of education and animal exploration. There were families everywhere. Many of them would set up their picnics in the walk way. The kids would play soccer in the zoo and many of them would feed the animals even though signs posted told them not to feed the animals. The people also threw their trash into the animal enclosures. It seemed perfectly normal for the people at the zoo to litter and to harass the animals. It was disappointing to see such disrespect for these beautiful creatures. 

Ron looking at trash at the zoo.

The most charming part of the experience at the Cairo Zoo was to see the feral cats. All over the zoo there were feral cats, and they were really cute. I found this so interesting because ancient Egyptians believe in a feline goddess named Bastet. She was thought to be the protector goddess of Lower Egypt.      

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The cats at the zoo ate the trash and scraps that people left around the park. Some of the cats even posed for pictures inside the animal enclosures. It was funny to see them with the Zebras and goats as if that were a perfectly normal setting for them. 

If you are ever in Cairo I would recommend you skip the zoo, unless you are curious about the cultural aspect of a day at the Cairo Zoo.  The managers of the zoo continue to say they are trying to improve conditions at the zoo but it seems like they have a long way to go.  With the revolution in Egypt and the unrest I imagine the goal of making the zoo a better place for the animals now sits on the backburner.  If you do decide to go to the zoo be prepared by knowing that the zoo and the condition of the animals are not at all like the zoos in the more developed parts of the world. They do not practice the same animal welfare and safety procedures.  In many countries there is a lack of regulations for keeping animals in captivity.